Forgetfulone's Pages

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

For this Thursday Thirteen, I decided to write about leap year. Come have some fun and link up with us!

1.About every four years, we add an extra day, February 29, to the calendar. Information from "Time and Date" website:Leap Years are needed to keep our modern dayGregorian Calendarin alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds – to circle once around the Sun. This is called a tropical year.

However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn't add a day on February 29 nearly every 4 years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days!

2. Our next leap year will be February 29, 2016.3. In a leap year, the year is divisible by 4.4. Julius Caesar first introduced the idea of leap year to the Roman Empire about 2,000 years ago.5. According to "Time and Date" website:Historical records show that February 30 was a real date at least twice in history. Sweden added the date to its 1712 calendar following an earlier calendar error; the Soviet Union observed February 30 in 1930 and 1931 in an attempt to cut seven-day weeks into five-day weeks and to introduce 30-day months for every working month.6. February 29 is called leap day.7. According to The Telegraph, Queen Margaret of Scotland was apparently five years old when she came up with the notorious February 29 proposal trap.

If a man did refuse the proposal, he would be fined a kiss, a silk dress or twelve pairs of gloves.

Women either have to wear breeches or a scarlet petticoat to pop the question, according to tradition.

8. People in Greece avoid getting married during a leap year. They believe it is bad luck.

9. People born on February 29 are called leaplings or leapers.

10. The poet Lord Byron was born on February 29.

11. Also according to The Telegraph, The plot of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance revolved around Frederic's discovery that, because he is a leapling, he must remain apprenticed to pirates and serve another 63 years before he can join Mabel, his one true love.

12. Anthony, Texas claims to be the leap year capital of the world. They celebrate with square dancing and a trip to Aztec Cave.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Did you watch the Oscars? I saw a small portion of it, but I still don't know who won best actor/actress or best picture. Oh, well, no big deal.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed, like there is so much to do, and you can't get it all done? Of course you do! Especially if you're female. That's me, lately.

Happy that I got to see these two young ladies this weekend!

We took an 18 hour trip. Both ofour daughters are in college. One of the universities is on the way to the other, so we stopped and picked up one of our girls, then the three of us went to the college where our other daughter attends. We came home Sunday. That's a lot of hours to spend in a car in 54 hours. A lot of the time there was also spent in the car - going shopping, eating, site-seeing. It was so worth it!

I thought I had some wisdom to share today, and now I can't think of what it was. Story of my life. I have CRS! I need to write these things down! Have a great week!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

I'm linking up with Emmy Mom for Friday Five.
Share five thoughts and five pictures.

1. I'm so excited! I'm going to see my daughters! One is at college about six hours away, and the other is at college another 2 1/2 hours away. Luckily, you pass through one city to get to the other, so we can see them both. I have been waiting all week for this! Today's finally here!

2. Writing an online professional development course for teachers was harder than I thought it was going to be. I met my deadline Tuesday, thank goodness, but I still have a few things I can go back and tweak. It has been a long, complex process. I wonder if I had it to do over again if I would.

3. Last week, our students spent about an hour and a half shooting a school-wide video. Our radio/TV teacher puts together a song mix, and the kids are all lined up in the halls throughout the school. This year they held up signs with positive messages on them as he went by to film. Sounds like fun, no? No! Biggest waste of time! The kids are super-crazy, and they expect us to go back to class after this.

4. I would rather have a valentine party with my students than film the video, but we don't have parties in intermediate (middle) school. That's something they leave behind in elementary school, but it's kind of a sad thing.

5. Spring break can't get here soon enough!

This is the book I'm reading now.

A late Valentine's wish!

I miss watching my daughter perform with color guard.

I miss supporting my son through FFA.

I thought this flower was pretty. I took this picture Jan. 17 in Galveston.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Musing Mondays is hosted over at Should Be Reading. Let's talk about what we've been reading and writing.

Last week, I finished Hope to Die, the 22nd book in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. I had no idea there were 22 Alex Cross books! It was an easy read because it was a wild ride the entire book! I thoroughly enjoyed it. And he even managed to work a little twist in there that almost got me! Way to go, Patterson! Loved it!

I'm now reading House Rules by Jodi Picoult, and so far, I am enjoying it, It's over 600 pages long, so it will probably take me two weeks to read. What fascinates me most is that one of the main characters has Asperger's Syndrome. I have a few students this year who are on the autism spectrum, so I'm quite interested. And with all Picoult books, the storyline will be thought-provoking.

This weekend, I have been working hours and hours on some projects whose deadlines are fast approaching. I have been writing, and scanning, and editing, and uploading, and writing some more, and ugh! I told my husband I was going to take a break and read my One Year Bible. He said, "That's what's keeping you sane." He wasn't being facetious, and he's absolutely right! And I'm continuing my 3-Minute Devotionals for Women. I love those almost as much as my Bible reading.

I also found this gem on the web. I hope you will read and enjoy it as much as I did.

This was a disappointing book. I have loved all of Mark Gimenez's previous books, but this one was a dud. I like the fact that Gimenez sets his books in Texas, but this one was such an unfavorable depiction of our great state. He made Texans seem like people who only care about money, hunting, and appearances, and he portrayed Mexicans as either ignorant or ruthless. There were stereotypical politicians (aka liars, all) whose only concern is getting elected, drug lords with no regard for human life, and Mexican children who don't have an ounce of dignity or intelligence. He poked fun at the politics of both Texas and the United States. The characters were caricatures. And much of the book read like an action movie where the hero gets shot several times and slashed with a knife but can still carry an unconscious full-grown man one hundred yards uphill. If I were the type of reader who gives up on books, I would have put this one down, but I always have to see it through to the end, and boy was I glad when it ended. Mr. Gimenez should stick to legal thrillers rather than politics and perhaps focus on some of the better qualities of our state and its people.

Now I am reading Hope to Die, the 22nd book in the Alex Cross series. At least I know to suspend belief as I am reading this one. I love the style that Patterson uses. He hooks you quickly and keeps you hooked till the end.

I'm still reading my One Year Bible on a daily basis, and I really look forward to the time I spend with it. I'm also reading my 3 Minute Devotionals on a daily basis. What are you reading?

Thursday, February 05, 2015

It's Friday! Time to link up with Aubrey at High-Heeled Love because confession is good for the soul.

I confess

I'm glad I'm finished reading my latest Mark Giminez book. I have loved all of his books... until I read this one. I will post a review later. Needless to say, it won't be favorable.

I confess

When I woke up today, I thought it was 27 degrees outside! It wasn't. It was actually about 40. It took me a while to figure out why I thought it was so cold. Mystery solved... I had accidentally left my weather setting on my phone to the city where my daughter goes to school. It's about 6 hours North of us, so it's definitely colder.

I confess

I am the worst texter. I get made fun of for all the mistakes I make, especially since I'm an English teacher! Granted, I teach sixth graders, not college students, but I can make some doozies! It gets a little old being made fun of, though. I can't help that 1) I get in a hurry, and 2) I can't see worth a darn up close. I don't wear my reading glasses unless I'm actually reading, so I can't see well. People like to make fun of my handicap! (JK)

Monday, February 02, 2015

I wasn't interested in the Superbowl game at all, and I hadn't planned to watch the halftime show, but I heard it coming on when I was cleaning the kitchen and decided to take a peek. I am no Katy Perry fan, but her show was pretty amazing. My favorite part was her entrance. Wow! In fact, when it was completely over, all I could say was, "Wow."

And speaking of WOW... I've mentioned how I hate group texts, so when I got one on Friday, I tried to determine who the people were whose numbers I don't have in my phone. I sent a text saying, "This is so-and-so, and I want to save your number in my phone. Who is this?" Most people just say, "Oh It's Amanda. Haha,." Well, not this one woman. Instead, she sent me snarky remarks like "You look good today," and "This is your secret admirer." And, "My name is Reginald," and crap like that. I finally asked our book club hostess who it was, and she told me. I also asked her not to send me anymore group texts. That one person makes me not want to participate anymore. Maybe I will just set up my own book club with people who are more like me.

And on a completely new topic, I made a terrific chicken stir fry for dinner last night. I got the recipe from McCormick, but I never follow a recipe exactly. I like to add my own spin on things. And speaking of food, my mother-in-law made roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for my husband for his birthday dinner. He has been asking her to make it for a long time, and she finally did. It was delicious! I'm so lucky to have in-laws that I just love.